Girl at the Rock Shows

What were you doing on Wednesday night? Honestly, I don’t understand people. When I get into work, there’s often chatter about what people did the night before. It typically revolves around walking the dog, dinner, and TV. I don’t get it. How is that fun? How do you get any fulfillment out of that? Why aren’t you doing something exciting or at least a bit adventurous? Maybe I’m a strange squirrel. Maybe it’s just me who needs to go out and do things almost every night. I don’t know what it is, but I know that all of those folks who decided to stay in on Wednesday night and decided not to go to Zhora Darling really messed up.

Local band Wish Wash was first up. Although the venue was empty (there’s no nice way to put it, the only people in the audience when the show started were the other bands and then my boyfriend and I), Wish Wash took the stage and instantly started stealing hearts. Stylistically, Wish Wash has an almost 90’s grungy pop kind of thing going on. It was powerful, but it was also light and fluffy at the same time. It was the kind of music that takes you away from your problems, away from the stress of just trying to survive on this planet, and it was perfect.

Vocalist Anna Neighbors admitted that she would rather stare at the crowd instead of coming up with banter between songs. This added a slight hint of awkwardness to the set at first, but as their time on stage went on, I realized that it also added charm. Kind of like how their music took me away from the stress of my day, I loved watching how the members of this band seemed to leave their bodies and leave just their hearts on stage. It added a level of intimacy and raw emotion in the spotlight and definitely hit everyone in the audience in a very special way. Sure, there weren’t many people in the audience while Wish Wash played, but everyone in that room surely left this set feeling a newfound sense of love and admiration for these local rockers.

Up next was Nashville-based Echo Pilot. I had never heard of this band prior to this show. All I knew was that they had reached out to me about covering this show, and they were the first band to claim me for Wednesday night, so I said yes. I knew nothing about their music, nothing about their vibe, but I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as they took the stage.

It was love at first note. Their southern-swagger drenched rock n’ roll sound was literal music to my ears. There were many moments throughout their set where I was getting a bit of a Foo Fighters kind of influence, but it was like Foo Fighters on one too many Red Bulls. They were full of life and, although there were still very few people in the room, they didn’t hold back. Vocalist Ryan Van Abeele was shredding away while his curly locks flew all over the place. Drummer Dan Russell was hitting the drums like his life depended on it. Bassist Andrew Stuart Howsmon was holding down a steady yet intricate bassline while guitarist Aaron Smith worked his magic (which was insane, knowing that he had just broken his elbow a few months ago– record recovery time? I think so!). Sure, there weren’t many people in attendance during Echo Pilot’s set, but that didn’t change a damn thing for this band. They got up on stage, did their thing with a sense of fiery passion, and then, just like that, they were done. They left the stage and made room for the final act of the night, but they left with a little corner of my heart, and I’m okay with never getting that back– they deserve to have it.

Closing out the night was local band Modern Wildlife. This was my third night spent with this band. The first time, it was fine, I liked them enough, but it wasn’t enough to write home about. The second time, they started to grow on me. Their music hit me just a bit harder, and I started to get it. After Wednesday night, I really get it. This band is complicated in a way. They don’t just play music for the masses; they play music for music people. From intricate lines of notes to words as deep as the ocean, this band puts a lot of thought and detail into everything they do, and it’s so easy to get lost in it all in such a perfect way.

Although the overall vibe of Modern Wildlife was a hard right turn from the energy that I picked up on from Echo Pilot, it worked. This entire night was a rollercoaster ride in more ways than one, and I like how, after the high-octane set that was Echo Pilot, Modern Wildlife seemed to bring me back down to earth while keeping my head in the clouds. Their sound, although beautifully complicated, is also stunningly chill. There’s energy, and there’s power, but it’s presented in a more subtle way, making this set the best way to close out my Wednesday night and send me off back into the summer-feeling night.

After the show, I went up to buy a copy of Echo Pilot’s new album ‘Notion.’ It wasn’t hard for them to put two and two together and figure out who I was. They instantly started thanking me for coming out. I instantly felt the need to apologize for my city. I don’t know why I did that, and I feel like an idiot, but the truth is, this show broke my heart. This band deserved more people. All of the bands that played on Wednesday night at Zhora Darling did. They deserved an audience to play off of. They deserved way more than the pennies I’m sure they walked away with. They deserved the world. So, I ask again, where were you on Wednesday night? What was more important than experiencing the magic that is live music? You can’t tell me live music is dead. I see you all on my socials buying over-priced tickets to cut and copy kind of shows at arenas and stadiums. You can do that, but you can’t spend $15 to support a local establishment and a band that is just trying to spread the love? Stop being part of the problem– be part of the solution. Go out to a show that you know nothing about. Go check out a local venue and get to know the staff. Make some new friends and buy a record of a band you knew nothing about, but left you more than impressed with their live performance. Support art, not corporations.

Line Up:

Wish Wash

Echo Pilot

Modern Wildlife

Venue: Zhora Darling

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 36

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability-0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Wish Wash – 0

Echo Pilot – 0

Modern Wildlife – 2

Show on Deck — Black Violin

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